I LOVEEEEE green leafy salads. When spring comes, I can’t wait to fill my plate with freshly picked greens from the farmers market. One of my favorite spring greenies is arugula, or “ricula” as we call it here in Croatia. It tastes bitter and slightly peppery, and it goes very well with all meals. I use arugula for making salads, of course, but also for making sandwiches. I put it on a pizza. I make arugula pesto… and sometimes I eat a pinch, unseasoned, with a piece of cheese, straight from the refrigerator. What a lovely quick snack!

Arugula is an incredible veggie. It’s rich in vitamins A, C, K and folic acid, but also contains a lot of important minerals – calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium. Like most green vegetables, arugula is loaded with antioxidants and is known for being an excellent liver cleanser that’s why arugula is used for the spring detox. Arugula is sooo HEALTHY… and so handy. You can grow arugula around your house, you know!? Even on your kitchen window. I had no luck in growing my own arugula… the same story as with basil. I’m just not good at “that” planting and growing stuff … although I love plants and gardening.

I remember, as a kid, how I used to spend my spring school breaks at my grandma’s old house in Zagorje (a part of Croatian northwest County). We loved to go for a walk around the countryside and scooped wild arugula that was growing around on this beautiful green fields. Now I can’t wait for first fresh picked arugula to appear on the local farmers market. It always reminds me of my lovely Zagorje.

Anyway, Arugula Beans Salad is my grandma’s favorite spring salad. And my too. This salad always brings wonderful childhood memories. That’s why I decided to upgrade grandmother’s classic arugula salad with beans and onions, which I ate as a kid. I decided to make it more nutritious and off course healthier.

To make this salad I used fresh young arugula, cooked brown beans, and purple onion. I also added some cherry tomatoes and freshly grated carrot. Mild flavored purple onion, peppery arugula and soft beans, combined with crisp, fresh carrots and juicy tomatoes have turned this Arugula Beans Salad into a true spring splendor. You can easily replace brown beans with red or white beans if you prefer. Note that red beans are more nutritious than brown beans. It has more proteins and calories, while white beans are totally low -calorie but contains fewer proteins and fibers.

My grandma used a simple dressing made of olive oil, vinegar, and salt to spice up her salads. I’ve decided to take this Arugula Beans Salad into a new era. So I made the creamy dressing with avocado, lemon, and Greek yogurt. It’s like HEALTHY mayo. This avocado dressing enriched the Arugula Beans Salad with healthy nutrients and made it irresistibly light and just perfect. You can store this avo dressing in a jar with a good lid and keep refrigerated up to few days. I use avo dressing for my sandwiches and as a spread for my toasts.

Arugula Beans Salad is …

requires only a 5 simple ingredients and it’s super easy to make,

full of high-quality dietary fibers that promote good digestion and weight loss,

rich in plant-based proteins,

rich in healthy fats,

rich in potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B and iron,

rich in antioxidants that protect our body and support the immune system,

gluten-free and vegetarian,

perfect office lunch or a light dinner.

Don’t let the looks and sounds of this simple salad fool you. It’s a complete, well-balanced meal. This Arugula Beans Salad contains all your body needs – proteins, healthy fats and lots of healthy fibers that will make you well fed and keep you full for hours. You can prepare all ingredients ahead and put the salad into a glass jars and keep in your fridge. It’s a GREAT quick grab-and-go meal or office lunch.

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36 Comments

Natalie, this salad looks delicious. I love how you give so much for health and nutrition details in your post. Always good to know more about the food you eat. Thanks for sharing all that information.

You are right – arugula is amazing! Just like you I love using it in many different ways. It has such a refreshing and peppery taste and makes almost everything taste so much fresher and brighter! Your combination of peppery arugula and creamy avocado is so so so good!

Fortunately for me I have arugula in the fridge. I used some of it for our pizza now I’m going to make your recipe. I really like the avocado dressing. Yum!! All that nutrition in one bowl. Thank you for sharing.

Wow this is one nutritious and delicious looking salad. I have been trying to incorporate more arugula into our diet. Avocados are always in our house. This is the perfect lunch, or I would pair it with a great burger for dinner too.

Now I wished I could visit Croatia soon again. It has been more then 10 years already. We had even taken the train once from Austria to Croatia, and it was awesome. 🙂 Your salad reminds me of warm days and I absolutely need this right now while sitting in the summer heat in India. Thanks for sharing!

I’m so glad you have such a lovely memories 🙂 10 years is looong heheh You need to come and visit Croatia again. We have beautiful weather here, sunny, warm and coast is just beautiful this time of year 😉

I love arugula salad, I find it’s the best salad to go with a steak (sorry don’t mean to offend if you’re vegetarian!). I love your avocado dressing sounds really yummy. I’ve pinned this for later because I’d been wanting to make an avocado dressing. I’ll give yours a try. 🙂

I’m so with you on this! We love to have arugula in the crisper at all times. It’s a go-to side for us. We often serve just that with a little olive oil and salt as a side to veggie burgers for dinner. Quick, easy, no fuss.

Thanks! I’m glad you like it 🙂 We call it brown beans here in Mediterranean, it’s very common here. It has very soft buttery texture. It’s similar to Red Kidney Beans and can be substituted with it in this salad.

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Hi, I’m Natalie! I'm a healthy lifestyler and founder of Natalie’s Food & Health. On my blog you will find recipes that includes nutritious REAL ingredients, healthy lifestyle TIPS and MOTIVATION to help you be the healthiest, happiest you. Now let me inspire you to eat healthy and live better every day! Read More